REMAINING (number with state)Abdomen, T1-3, color With pale markings (21) Entirely black (1)Abdomen, T2, presence of dark reddish spots on sides Absent (20) Present (5)D. adulaterina vs D. maculata D. adulterina- The integument within the notched or sinus portion of the compound eye usually with only a narrow band of ivory along the notches lower edge - T1 sometimes and T2 almost always with thin latitudinal pale bands along the rim of the segment, usually a simple line in males and more wedge-shaped in females - The pale markings along the eye on the cheek side are notched in the center along its outer edge, that notch usually at least 50 percent of the width of the pale area and at times completely splits the pale band along the eye into two sections - A band of ivory along the base of the clypeus in the female where it borders the supraclypeus separates any black coloration on the clypeus from connecting to the supraclypeal area – In direct comparison this species is slightly smaller (1) D. maculata – The integument within the notched portion of the eye usually completely pale - T1 and T2 all black - The pale markings along the eye on the cheek notched with black coloration in the center of its outer edge, that notch usually no deeper than 25 percent of the width of the pale area – A vertical, linear, dark pattern can be seen extending from the upper area of the clypeus to where it joins the supraclypeus – In direct comparison this species is slightly larger. (1)D. adulterina, D. alpicola, D. norvegicoides D. adulterina - UNIQUE in that along the rim of the clypeus are two sharp corners to either side of the center, these corners form clearly acute teeth like angles and are slightly upturned, in males these angles are roughly at right angles - A nest parasite (1) D. alpicola - Along the rim of the clypeus are two corners on either side of the center, these corners form clearly obtuse rounded angles and are not or hardly upturned - Yellow band on T5 USUALLY with 2 lateral black spots completely enclosed by yellow - Tegula with no marks or only on the front - No males were available for viewing, but the literature mentions that at least some of the last 6 segments of the flagella have only 1 small tyloid, a tyloid is a narrow, very low elevation ridge on the underside of the segment (1) D. norvegicoides - Along the rim of the clypeus are two corners on either side of the center, these corners form clearly obtuse rounded angles and are not or hardly upturned, in males these corners are are so wide as to be almost gone - Yellow band on T5 USUALLY without 2 lateral black spots completely enclosed by yellow - Tegula with yellow markings on the front and the rear edge - The males have 2 tyloids on each of the last 6 flagellar segments, tyloids are narrow, very low elevation ridges on the underside of the segment, the males that were viewed all had the same abdominal and tegula colorations (1)D. adulterina, D. arenaria, D. norwegica D. adulterina - The pale area along the rim of T2 strongly increasing in thickness in females from the center to the sides, sometimes a simple wedge other times with cut-outs and indentations, usually there is a gap in the center of the segment where the band is absent, males can have either no line or a simple nearly parallel-sided thin line along the rim - Color of pale areas tends towards ivory rather than yellow - UNIQUE in that along the rim of the clypeus are two sharp corners to either side of the center, these corners form clearly acute teeth like angles and are slightly upturned, in males these angles are roughly at right angles - Parasitic species (1) D. arenaria - The pale area along the rim of T2 a complex of indentations and changes in thickness across the segment, often, but not always there is a short gap in the center - Color of pale areas tends towards yellow rather than ivory - Along the rim of the clypeus are two corners on either side of the center, these corners are slightly but noticably greater than 90 degrees are not or hardly upturned (1) D. norwegica - The pale area along the rim of T2 a simple continuous line with almost no variation in the thickness of its interior border - Color of pale areas tends towards ivory rather than yellow - Along the rim of the clypeus are two corners on either side of the center, these corners are slightly but noticably greater than 90 degrees are not or hardly upturned - Some individuals may have rufous or reddish patches on the sides of T1-3 the others never do (1)Female, abdomen, T1, shape of medial black mark that is partially surround by yellow, if present Absent - without an enclosed black mark within the center of the pale area, often with some sort of pale line along the apical rim of the segment (19) Anchor-shaped (6) Diamond-shaped (4)Female, head, antenna, first segment or scape, color Front with yellow or white (16) Entirely black- May be brown in the rear or, in a few cases, may have a small dot of pale color, but occupying less than one-quarter the length of the segment (6)Head, cheek or gena, pattern of light colored band running along the edge of the compound eye Continuous (15) Interrupted in the center, either completely or with only a small strip of yellow or white remaining along the edge of the eye, in other cases pale area only exists along the rear of the margin of the eye (10) Lower edge notched in the center (7)Head, distance from lateral ocelli to back edge of head Small - Fewer than 3 ocelli diameters (19) Large - 3 or more ocelli diameters - Very large species (2)Head, presence of continuous yellow ring around top of compound eye Absent (21) Present (4)Head, space between the bottom of the compound eye and the base of the mandible, size Narrow - Base of mandibles almost touching the bottom of the compound eye (15) Broad - Distance slightly less than one-third of the base of the mandible to much greater (8)Male, V. flavopilosa vs V. alascensis, formerly V. vulgaris V. alascensis - The sinus of the compount eye is NOT completely filled by yellow and black invades inside the base of the sinus - Raised portion of base of T7 mostly yellow with 3 lobes of black extending in from base (1) V. flavopilosa - The sinus of the compound eye is completely filled by yellow integument, the yellow usually extends out beyond the edges of the sinus - Raised portion of base of T7 entirely black or nearly so (1)Male, V. germanica vs V. pensylvanica V. germanica - A band of yellow extends only part way around the compound eye, at the top of the eye there is a break in the band that is as wide as the eye itself - Raised portion of base of T7 entirely yellow or with only a narrow band of black at the base (1) V. pensylvanica - A band of yellow extends almost completely around the compound eye, there is but a narrow break in the band at the top of the eye usually this break is only about as long as the band of yellow is wide or less - Raised portion of base of T7 mostly yellow with 3 lobes of black extending in from base (1)Male, V. maculifrons vs similar males - The profile of T7 when viewed from the side Others - There is a smooth transitionin from the base to the lower and flatter apical end of the segment, it may be somewhat steep but never is it angular or cliff-like (4) V. maculifrons - When transitioning from the base to the lower and flatter apical end of the segment there is a clearly abrupt, right angle drop-off or cliff that forms the between the two sections (1)Male, abdomen, T1 and T2, the angle of the v-shaped notch in the CENTER of the margin of the yellow pigmented portion of the segment that borders the rim Clearly greater than 90 degrees, at times nearly linear or 180 degrees (3) Equal to or less than 90 degress (2)Male, abdomen, T7, pattern and color of basal portion - Note that while there isn t usually a sharp line, the apical portion is always flatter and depressed or lower in elevation Entirely or almost entirely black (2) Yellow with 3 lobes or peninsulas of black descending from the base, usually the lateral lobes are a bit longer (2) Entirely yellow or only with a narrow strip of black at the very base (1)Pale markings, color Yellow (17) White or cream (5)State or province where specimen was collected Ontario (17) British Columbia (15) ME (15) VT (15) Alberta (14) CT (14) MA (14) MI (14) MN (14) Manitoba (14) ND (14) NJ (14) NY (14) Nova Scotia (14) OR (14) PA (14) Prince Edward Island (14) Quebec (14) RI (14) WI (14) CA (13) CO (13) MD (13) MT (13) NC (13) New Brunswick (13) SD (13) TN (13) VA (13) WA (13) WV (13) AK (12) DC (12) DE (12) GA (12) IA (12) KY (12) NH (12) OH (12) SC (12) UT (12) WY (12) AZ (11) ID (11) IN (11) NM (11) NV (11) Saskatchewan (11) Yukon (11) IL (10) NE (10) Newfoundland and Labrador (10) Northwest Territories (10) AL (6) MO (6) AR (5) FL (5) TX (5) LA (4) MS (4) KS (3) OK (3) HI (2)Thorax, scutum, presence of 2 large yellow or dark reddish stripes - Note that some species may have vague, short, thin lines of yellow on the scutum in this same area but these do not run down the length of the segment Absent (18) Present (3)V. acadica, V. atropilosa, V. vidua - These species are most easily distinguished from each other using facial and abdominal patterns - Careful, use a combination of characters, abdominal patterns in particular are variable and can look like other species V. acadica (1) V. atropilosa (1) V. vidua (1)V. austriaca vs V. acadica, V. atropilosa, V. vidua V. acadica, V. atropilosa, V. vidua - Long black hair on the hind tibia totally absent or with only 1-10, in any case far, far, lower density than these hairs on the femur (2) V. austriaca - Has long black hair along the front of the rear tibia at about the same density as that on the femur, these hairs much longer than the tibia is wide - a parasitic species (1)V. flavopilosa, V. germanica, V. maculifrons, V. alascensis - Workers - Combination of characters - A subtle and tricky group, some specimens may not be able to be assigned to a species - See explain for notes on the larger queens and the males, males have 13 rather than 12 antennal segments V. alascensis - UNIQUE in that the yellow integument does not completely fill the inside the sinus of the compound eye, black extends well interior of the border of the compound eye - Yellow band bordering eye along the cheek usually BUT NOT ALWAYS broken in the center - In direct comparison darker than the other species (1) V. flavopilosa - The sinus of the compound eye is filled by yellow integument and extends well outside of the border with the compound eye - Yellow band bordering eye along the cheek usually complete - Told from the extremely similar V. germanica by T6 as was mentioned above and the patterns of the yellow bordering the rims of T1- T4 which, in the center of the basal side of the yellow band exists some form of a v-shaped notch of black, in this species that notch is almost always greater than 90 degrees and on T1 rarely is enclosed to form a partial diamond of black , the notch in T2 is always latitudinally wider than deep - Most of the time this species can easily be told from V. germanica by the presence of 2 small yellow vertical lines on the rear of the scutum and by small yellow markings on the pronotum and the lower portion of the mesepisturnum (1) V. germanica - The sinus of the compound eye is filled with yellow integument and extends well outside of the border with the compound eye - Yellow band bordering the eye along the cheek usually complete - Told from the extremely similar V. flavopilosa by the patterns of the yellow bordering the rims of T1- T4, in the center of the basal side of this yellow band exists some form of a v-shaped notch of black, in this species that notch is ALMOST always equal to or less tha 90 degrees and on T1 it is USUALLY enclosed to form a partial diamond of black this feature is USUALLY UNIQUE to this species, the notch in T2 USUALLY about as latitudinally long as deep, though many exceptions occur where it is slightly latitudinally wider than deep - Unlike V. flavopilosula this species never has small yellow marks on the lower portion of the scutum or mesepisturnum (1) V. maculifrons - Yellow integument fills the sinus of the compound eye and extends usually as a convex mound well outside of the border with the compound eye - Yellow band bordering eye along the cheek usually complete - In the center of the basal side of the yellow band bordering the rims of T1- T4 exists some form of a v-shaped notch of black, in this species that notch is almost always greater than 90 degrees and in T1 is almost always enclosed to form a partial diamond of black, that diamond latitudinally wider than deep and is USUALLY a UNIQUE feature of this species, the notch in T2 is always latitudinally wider than deep (1)